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Kids across the country are headed back to school. Which means education-related objectives are on everyone’s minds these days. That makes this the perfect time for you to think about planning for your child’s educational future!

Did you catch our latest #askENABLE video that we shared on Facebook and IGTV earlier this week? In it, our founder and president, Phillip Clark, discussed the similarities and differences between traditional 529 college savings plans and the more recently developed 529 ABLE accounts.

According to MakingSpecialEducationWork.com, your “vision statement is one of the most important and overlooked parts of the IEP. This statement isn’t a required part of the IEP in the federal law IDEA, but it is required by many states. It’s important because it serves as a guide for developing special education services and goals that will help a student throughout the remaining school years, and ultimately, life after graduation.”

While an emerging area, the field of “Disability Ministry” is still in its infancy. However, at Ability Ministry, we are proud to say that we have been actively reaching out to the disability community for over 30 years! Our non-profit roots reach back all the way to 1981, when one man saw a need and decided to do something to meet that need. To this day we are working diligently to continue to meet need here in America – and beyond.

The mission of Ability Ministry is to “equip and empower disability ministry for churches, families, and individuals affected by disabilities helping them to become who God has created them to be.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, “each public school child who receives special education and related services must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Each IEP must be designed for one student and must be a truly individualized document. The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel, and students (when appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for children with disabilities. The IEP is the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability.”

Thuy and Grace’s early experiences as parents to their daughter, Avery, were exactly as they’d imagined. Just like any other new family, they were proud of the accomplishments and milestones that they saw in their daughter. They were also hopeful for her future.

However, at 10 months old, Thuy and Grace discovered that Avery had a recessive genetic mutation which left her with significant loss of hearing. “It was a tremendous shock as neither of us knew anyone who was deaf in our respective families. After countless exams, emotional conversations, and advice from numerous professionals, we decided to surgically implant her with cochlear implants” the couple explained.